Non-native herpetofauna continue to proliferate in the world’s most
invaded herpetofauna community: Evidence against community saturation
Abstract
The spread of non-native species continues to increase around the globe,
making it important we understand the dynamics of the resulting
communities in which non-natives comprise a high percentage of the total
fauna. As non-native species continue to invade, the resulting community
may become saturated, at which point limited resources would prevent
colonization by new non-native species and native or already established
species might decline. As the global hotspot for non-native reptiles and
amphibians, South Florida’s herpetofaunal community has a higher
probability of having reached the saturation point than any other
comparable system. Surveys conducted in Miami-Dade County in 2017
demonstrated that non-native species already dominated both native and
non-native habitat types and provided a baseline to examine dynamic
changes such as signatures of community saturation or negative impacts
on native species. In 2022, we replicated the surveys from 2017 at the
same 30 sites. We found that non-native richness and abundance have
increased significantly (19% and 33% increase in overall alpha
diversity and abundance, respectively), showing no signs of community
saturation. We also found no correlation between these non-native
increases and decreases in either native species richness or abundance.
Non-native species richness increased more rapidly at sites dominated by
non-native habitats, with two rock-loving species, Agama picticauda and
Leiocephalus carinatus, standing out as the most rapidly spreading
non-native herpetofauna. Our findings demonstrate that open niche space
allows the continued expansion of non-native herpetofaunal populations
even in the highly invaded community of Miami-Dade County, and that
protection of native habitat may help slow the spread of non-native
species.